Braking arrangement for dispensers of continuous material

ABSTRACT

A braking arrangement for dispensers of continuous material particulary paper dispensers includes a first gearwheel arranged for rotation about a first axis, and second gearwheel arranged for rotation about a second axis. The second gearwheel is arranged for displacement relative to the first gearwheel such that the second axis remains parallel to the first axis. In addition, the second gearwheel is biased towards the first gearwheel to partially intermesh therewith such that a variable gap is defined between the first and second gearwheel for passage of a continuous material.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a braking arrangement for use inconnection with dispensers of continuous material such as paper. Theinvention further relates to a dispenser equipped with such a brakingarrangement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Paper may be dispensed from dispensers predominantly in three main ways.Firstly, the paper may be in the form of individual sheets ofpredetermined size which are arranged within the dispenser such that theremoval of one sheet causes a portion of a subsequent sheet to beexposed ready for removal. Secondly, the paper may be in the form of acontinuous sheet and the dispenser is provided with a serrated orsharpened edge against which the sheet is brought to sever a certainlength from the sheet. Thirdly, the paper may be in the form of acontinuous sheet with perforations to allow a predetermined length ofthe sheet to be torn from the remainder of the sheet along theperforations. The feeding of the paper from these three types of papermay be manually or automatically achieved.

The present invention is primarily concerned with the manual dispensingof perforated paper from a dispenser, though it is to be understood thatthe invention may also be applied to dispensers of the second typedescribed above.

In a known dispenser of perforated paper, the paper is in the form of aroll having a longitudinal axis. The paper is arranged in the dispensersuch that the paper is unwound from the centre of the roll in avertically downward direction through a dispensing nozzle. Thedispensing nozzle is in the form of a truncated cone. As the paperpasses through the nozzle, a braking force on the paper builds up due tofriction between the sheet of paper and the inner surface of the nozzle.Provided that this braking force is sufficiently high, once a perforatedlength of the sheet of paper has passed through the nozzle, theweakening in the continuous sheet along the perforations will result ina length of the continuous sheet being torn from the remainder of thesheet.

Although the above-described dispenser has enjoyed commercial success,it does suffer from several disadvantages. Firstly, the braking forcewhich is generated by the passage of the paper through the dispensingnozzle is very much dependent on the grade of paper being dispensed.Accordingly, the dispensing nozzle must be provided with an opening ofvariable size to thereby vary the braking force in order for thedispenser to be able to function with paper of different grade.Secondly, when the dispenser is charged with a new roll, the free end ofthe roll must be pushed through the nozzle to expose a length of sheetsufficiently long to allow it to be gripped. Since, in order to generatethe requisite braking force, the nozzle is relatively long and narrow,difficulties arise in passing the free end of the roll through thenozzle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a brakingarrangement for use in dispensers of continuous material which overcomesthe disadvantages identified above.

This object is achieved by a braking arrangement according to one aspectof the invention.

Since in accordance with the present invention, the sheet of material ispassed between a pair of parallel, partially intermeshing gearwheels,the level of the braking force which is generated is much less dependenton the grade of material of the sheet.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dispenserfor dispensing a continuous paper sheet, which dispenser overcomes thedisadvantages associated with previous continuous paper sheetdispensers.

This object is achieved by a dispenser according to another aspect ofthe invention.

Advantageous embodiments of the braking arrangement and dispenseraccording to the present invention are detailed in the respectivedependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in the following in greater detail byway of example only and with reference to the attached drawings, inwhich

FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of components of oneembodiment of the braking arrangement according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the braking arrangement ofFIG. 1 in an assembled state;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along a centreline of the arrangement shownin FIG. 2;

FIG. 4a is an end view on a larger scale of a gearwheel incorporated inthe braking arrangement according to the present invention, and

FIG. 4b is a view of a tooth on the gearwheel of FIG. 4a shown on alarger scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:

In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally denotes a brakingarrangement according to the present invention. The braking arrangement10 is intended primarily for use with dispensers of continuous material,particularly paper dispensers. In accordance with the present invention,the braking arrangement 10 comprises a first gearwheel 12 which isarranged for rotation about a first axis 14. Advantageously, the firstgearwheel 12 is keyed to a spindle 16 which in turn is journalled forrotation in a chassis 18. The chassis 18 is intended to be mounted to adispenser, e.g. a paper dispenser, and is provided with a generallyconical shaped dispensing nozzle 19 through which the contents of thedispenser 20 (FIG. 2) can be dispensed. As is most clearly apparent fromFIG. 1, the chassis 18 comprises a pair of spaced flanges 21 whichsupport the spindle 16 to thereby allow the first gearwheel 12 to rotatebetween the spaced flanges 21 at a fixed position beneath the dispensingnozzle 19.

In accordance with the present invention, the braking arrangement 10further comprises a second gearwheel 22 which is arranged for rotationabout a second axis 24. The second gearwheel 22 is arranged fordisplacement relative to the first gearwheel 12 such that the secondaxis 24 always remains parallel to the first axis 14. Irrespective ofthe position of the second gearwheel relative the first gearwheel, thefirst axis 14 is always above the second axis 24, i.e. closer to the topof the chassis as shown in the drawings. Furthermore, and as is mostclearly apparent from FIG. 3, the second gearwheel 22 is biased towardsthe first gearwheel 12 to partially intermesh therewith such that avariable gap 26 is defined between the first and second gearwheel forpassage of the continuous material.

Advantageously, and as shown in the drawings, in order to permit thesecond gearwheel 22 to be displaceable relative the first gearwheel 12,the second gearwheel is keyed to a spindle 28 which in turn is carriedby a generally U-shaped cradle 30 in such a manner that the secondgearwheel may rotate between the arms of the U-shaped cradle. As isclearly shown in FIG. 3, the cradle 30 is journalled to the chassis 18at support locations 31 such that the first and second gearwheels 12, 22may partially intermesh. It is further apparent from FIG. 3 that thecradle 30 is acted upon by a spring force generated by a spring 32mounted on the chassis 18 to thereby bias the cradle, and thus also thesecond gearwheel, towards said first gearwheel 12. In order to ensurethat the first and second axes 14, 24 remain parallel, the spring 32 isadvantageously arranged to act on a region of the cradle 30 which issubstantially equidistant from the support locations 31 when the cradleis journalled to the cradle on the chassis.

To prevent the spring from completely closing the variable gap 26between the gearwheels, thereby hindering the passage of continuousmaterial 20, the braking arrangement is suitably provided with (notshown) stop means, such as interacting surfaces on the cradle 30 and thechassis 18 or spacer discs carried on the spindles 16 and 28, whichcontact each other when a predetermined minimum gap is reached.Naturally, this predetermined minimum gap may be made adjustable bysuitable means, such as interchangeable spacer discs.

To enable the braking arrangement to be used with different types ofdispenser containing different materials, the force generated by thespring 32 is preferably adjustable. Adjustment may be achieved in anyconventional manner, for example by the provision of an adjustment screw34 carried by the chassis 18, which screw can be rotated to compress orexpand the spring.

As will be apparent from FIG. 1, the first gearwheel 12 may be arrangedto cooperate with a manually actuable feed wheel 36 which may be used torotate the first gearwheel to aid in the initial through feed ofmaterial when e.g. the dispenser is provided with a new roll of paper.Naturally, the braking arrangement 10 may, if desired, be provided withan automatic feeding means, for example an electric motor, to rotate thegearwheels.

Tests have shown that, when operated in conjunction with perforatedpaper, the braking arrangement according to the present inventionfunctions best when the first and second gearwheels 12, 22 aresubstantially identical. Suitably, each gearwheel should be providedwith nine to fifteen substantially identical teeth, preferably twelveteeth. As shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, each tooth 38 should have onlyrounded edges, i.e. no sharp edges, to thereby prevent the continuousmaterial from being ripped. In a preferred embodiment of the inventionin which the braking arrangement 10 is utilized with a dispenser forperforated paper, each gearwheel has an external diameter d of 42 mm andis provided with 12 teeth. The height h of each tooth is 7 mm, themaximum distance between opposed faces of the tooth w is 4.7 mm, withthe various radii of curvature of the tooth a, b, c, as shown in FIG. 4bbeing 1.4, 10 and 2.35 mm respectively. Finally, the distance x from thetip of each tooth to the region of maximum width is 4 mm. The gearwheels12, 22 may be made from extruded aluminium and the spindles 16, 28 froma suitable steel. The chassis 18 may be made from aluminium or aglassfibre-reinforced polymer.

As mentioned earlier, the braking arrangement 10 according to thepresent invention may suitably be utilized in a dispenser for dispensinga continuous paper sheet. The paper sheet may be in the form of a rollof paper having a longitudinal axis. Depending on the type of dispenser,the roll of paper may be arranged in the dispenser such that thelongitudinal axis of the roll of paper is aligned with the nozzle 19 onthe chassis 18. In such a case, it is advantageous if the roll is suchthat paper can be drawn from the centre of the roll rather than theperiphery. Alternatively, the roll of paper may be arranged in thedispenser such that the longitudinal axis of the roll of paper issubstantially parallel to the first and second axes 14, 24 of thebraking arrangement 10.

Naturally, the invention is not to be restricted to the embodimentsdescribed above and shown in the drawings, but may be varied within thescope of the appended claims. For example, the braking arrangement maybe used in dispensers of material other than paper.

What is claimed is:
 1. A braking arrangement for dispensers ofcontinuous material, particulary paper dispensers, said arrangementcomprising:a first gearwheel being arranged for rotation about a firstaxis carried by a chassis; a second gearwheel being arranged forrotation about a second axis, said second axis being carried by acradle, said cradle being journalled to said chassis; said secondgearwheel being arranged for displacement relative to said firstgearwheel such that said second axis remains parallel to said firstaxis; a dispensing nozzle for dispensing said continuous material in adownstream direction towards said first and second gearwheels; andwherein said second gearwheel is biased towards said first gearwheel topartially intermesh therewith such that a variable gap is definedbetween said first and second gearwheel for passage of said continuousmaterial, and wherein said first axis is located closer to said nozzlethan said second axis.
 2. The braking arrangement as claimed in claim 1,wherein said cradle is acted upon by a spring force generated by aspring mounted on said chassis to thereby bias said second gearwheeltowards said first gearwheel.
 3. The braking arrangement as claimed inclaim 2, wherein said spring force is adjustable.
 4. The brakingarrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first gearwheelcooperates with a manually actuable feed wheel for rotation of saidfirst gearwheel.
 5. The braking arrangement as claimed in claim 1,wherein said first and second gearwheels are substantially identical,each gearwheel being provided with 9 to 15 substantially identicalteeth, each tooth having only rounded edges to thereby prevent saidcontinuous material from being ripped.
 6. A dispenser for dispensing acontinuous paper sheet, said paper sheet being in the form of a roll ofpaper having a longitudinal axis, wherein said dispenser is providedwith the braking arrangement as claimed in claim
 1. 7. The dispenser asclaimed in claims wherein said roll of paper is intended to be arrangedin said dispenser such that said longitudinal axis of said roll of paperis aligned with said downstream direction.
 8. The dispenser as claimedin claim 6, wherein said roll of paper is intended to be arranged insaid dispenser such that said longitudinal axis of said roll of paper issubstantially parallel to said first and second axis.
 9. The dispenseras claimed in claim 6, wherein the dispenser is intended to houseperforated paper.
 10. The braking arrangement as claimed in claim 5,wherein each gearwheel includes 12 teeth.